Look! Up in the Sky!
by freddylloyd
Summary: Which is more annoying—knowing that Lex Luthor has a satellite spying on Metropolis, or your teammates’ responses to that news? Early in the Young Justice run.


_METROPOLIS (June 14)—LexCorp launched its latest and most advanced satellite at 7:56 this morning. Company CEO Lex Luthor announced that the launch was a complete success._

_"By placing our LX5i satellite in geostationary orbit over Metropolis, and equipping it with the finest optical scanners ever produced, LexCorp is helping this fine city remain the most technically advanced in the world," Luthor told a news conference shortly after the launch._

_"The LX5i will allow our scientists to study weather systems, traffic patterns, environmental impacts, and population settlements in greater detail than ever before. The cameras on board are even sharp enough to read license plates, which will assist the police in apprehending criminals without the need for outside help, making life safer for us all."_

Tim Drake looked up from reading the electronic press release and grumbled, "Pusbucket."

**Fifteen Days Later**

TEEP.

"Hey, birdboy!" Superboy called to Robin. "Your computer's chirping."

"Yeah, I'm working on something."

"And I'm trying to watch _Wendy_. It's bad enough that Bart keeps trying to plug in his games whenever I turn—Hey! I saw that!"

"Saw what? Me? I'm over here. Whatcha doing, Rob?"

"I'm processing photos from a new satellite."

Superboy snorted. "_That's_ what's so important?"

"The satellite's parked over Metropolis," Robin added.

"Really?" Superboy hurried over, though still trying to act cool. "Like, this is a picture of Metropolis, right now?"

"About four seconds ago. It takes two seconds for the optics to scan a square kilometer, and another two for the data to travel through the network."

"Cool." Cissie joined the boys. "So is this, like, a bat-satellite?"

"Quick, chum—the batellite!" Superboy and Bart cracked up.

"Funny, guys. It's a LexCorp satellite," Robin explained. "I hacked into the company network to test if this new tech might be a threat to heroes."

"A threat to Superman?" Superboy scoffed. "That'll take more than a camera, even for Luthor."

"And Flash is too fast for _any_ camera to catch him!" boasted Bart.

"Yeah, Rob. I bet you're really looking for pictures of Power Girl."

"Superboy!" Cassie scolded. She put down her book and strode over to the group.

"You mean that's what _you_ would do," Cissie said.

"Cissie!" Cassie scolded as Superboy smirked.

"Why Power Girl?" asked Bart.

"Bart!"

"This is a serious issue, guys," said Robin. "The cameras up there are so sharp they can snap people's faces. I got some next-generation facial-recognition software from WayneTech—"

"More hacking?" asked Cissie.

"Uh, yeah. Anyway, I set up the software to analyze each image from the satellite. If it makes a match with a face in our hero database, then it tags that part of the image. Watch. The satellite's about to come back to the sector where Superman was putting out a fire thirty-four seconds ago. So it'll probably spot him again."

"There he is." Cissie pointed to one corner of the screen.

TEEP. The computer highlighted the same area.

"Wow, Ciss, you've got sharp eyes."

"But what's the big deal about spotting Superman?" asked Superboy. "You and Batman are weirdos who like working in the dark, but everybody in Metropolis sees Superman all the time."

"Not _all_ the time. If a Lexcorp computer collects enough images of him, then someone could write a program to analyze patterns. They could figure out where Superman's probably _going_ to be ahead of time. Maybe even figure out his secret identity."

"Superman has a secret identity?" said Cassie.

"I mean, uh, if he's working undercover," Robin explained. "In any case, in the wrong hands—"

"Luthor's hands," Superboy muttered.

"—these satellite cameras could be a real threat."

TEEP.

"Who's it spotted now?" asked Cassie.

"Impulse," Cissie reported.

"What?"

"Wasn't Bart just here?"

TEEP.

"Yes, but now he's _there_," Cissie said.

"So," said Superboy, "what's Bart doing in Metropolis?"

"Waving up at us," said Cissie.

TEEP.

"And sticking out his tongue."

TEEP.

"Pretending to pick his nose."

"Let's hope he's pretending," said Cassie.

TEEP TEEP.

"Making bunny ears behind Superman's head. You know, Robin, I think you've found the threat."

"Aw, man!" Robin moaned. "Kid, would you go get Imp and bring him back here? I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of that satellite, and he's just fooling around."

**Nine Days Later**

"So what do you have for me?" the CEO snapped.

"Mr. Luthor, sir." Senior imagery technician Stephanie Cariacci swallowed hard. "You asked us to tell you if the LX5i captured unusual images of—"

"Him?"

"No. I mean, yes, you had, um, _him_ on the top of the list, and we're building a file of those images for further analysis. But you also asked us to look for the young one. 'Superboy'."

"Oh, yes." The CEO's face softened slightly, letting Cariacci's heart slow to twice its normal speed. "So what's the Kid up to?"

"Well, sir, the LX5i captured these images back on the 29th. It took us several days to scan every face. I understand that WayneTech might have some faster software—"

"You have the best tools in the world right here, Cariacci," the CEO snapped as he flipped through the photos.

"Yes, sir. The subject was in sector U14, and we captured seven images. He had an argument with another teenager, wearing goggles, and then they left quickly. We've identified the other boy as—"

"A young meta who works out of Alabama. Mostly harmless. Go on."

"Yes, sir. Once we pegged him, we started to look back in other images from that day." Cariacci handed over another short stack of printouts. "He appears to have been, um, making strange facial expressions—"

"Dammit," growled Luthor.

"Sir?"

The CEO threw down one photo after another, his face and scalp turning ruddy. "They know."

"Who—"

"The metas. Whoever works with this kid—Flash, Titans, someone. They figured out what the LX5i is for, and he was making fun of it. He was making fun of LexCorp."

"Can we be sure—"

"He was making faces at me, Cariacci! You have two minutes to download the last data. Then we shut down the project."

"Sir?" Cariacci watched her boss stride away, fists clenched. Over his shoulder he barked:

"Shut it down."

**Two and a Half Minutes Later**

"Whoa," said Cissie.

Robin glanced back from his seat at the super-cycle's wheel. "What is it?"

"I just saw something flash in the sky. Over there." The archer pointed.

Bart stood up in the front seat. "Where? Land the cycle, Robbie! I'll go see!"

"Calm down, Impulse," Cassie told him, but she was already aloft.

Superboy was also airborne, squinting into the distance. "That's Metropolis. I should check—"

"No, the explosion wasn't down near the city," Cissie said. "It was way up in the sky."

"Hmm. The LexCorp satellite might show what happened." Robin pulled a small computer out of his sleeve.

"Quick, chum—the batellite!" chorused Bart and Superboy.

"Shut up," said Robin.

"It'd be nice if it turned out to be useful," said Cassie. "Maybe you didn't have to worry so much after all."

Robin stared at the little screen. "I'm seeing nothing."

"You mean there's nothing left on the ground?" asked Superboy, suddenly serious again.

"No. No signal from space."

"You know what I think exploded?" said Cissie.

"The satellite," answered Robin.

"The satellite."

"The satellite?" said Bart. "Ohhh, the _satellite_."

Robin was still frowning down at the blank screen.

"So Luthor's big expensive satellite blew up," Superboy said, settling back down in his seat. "Too bad. It's not like that had anything to do with us, right?"


End file.
